Soon Wendy’s restaurants in France? The American fast food giant is interested in France. Having set foot in the UK, Wendy’s now wants to move to continental Europe with, among others, France in its sights. The fast food chain already has more than 7,000 restaurants in the United States and the rest of the world, but it is practically absent from the Old Continent, which it abandoned after several commercial failures. Building on a new international development strategy, Wendy’s is trying again.
Wendy’s has started its great comeback in Europe starting with the United Kingdom, where the company has been multiplying restaurant openings since 2021 thanks to franchises. Known for the square steaks inside its burgers and its “Frosty” ice cream, it is one of the fast-food giants in the United States, behind Subway and McDonald’s and neck-and-neck with Burger King. The first restaurant opened in 1969 in Columbus, Ohio, before a dazzling development: 1,000 restaurants in 1978, then 2,000 restaurants in 1980, and 3,000 restaurants in 1985.
return to the UK
But, unlike its main competitors, the brand has little presence abroad. Outside the United States, Wendy’s has only 1,000 restaurants, far behind McDonald’s or Burger King.
Internationally, in addition to Canada, Wendy’s has established itself in some thirty countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. On European soil, restaurants had opened their doors in Italy, Germany, Greece or the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 1990s, but they ended up closing because they did not find the expected success.
To eat the first Wendy’s hamburgers in France, we will have to wait for the company to find its franchise partners. Especially since they will not be the only ones on the French market where American fast food brands are arriving one after the other. Chains such as Five Guys, Carl’s Jr or Steak’n Shake have recently established themselves in France, without forgetting the return of Burger King in the 2010s. Latest arrival: the Louisiana brand Popeye’s, which has just arrived to open a restaurant in Paris.
Source: BFM TV
